Air Quality

This page, which will be updated from time to time, is dedicated to issues that may affect air quality on and near the Kalispel Indian Reservation. Maintaining clean air is one of the Tribe’s highest sovereign priorities because clean air is essential to protecting the health and culture of the Kalispel people.

The Kalispel Natural Resources Department (“KNRD”) is currently working on two air quality issues. The first is the redesignation of the Reservation as a Class I area under the Clean Air Act’s Prevention of Significant Deterioration Program. Class I redesignation is a way to limit the amount of air pollution on the Reservation from new industrial sources. For more information on the Tribe’s Class I redesignation proposal, visit:

KNRD is also closely tracking a proposal by HiTest Sands to construct a silicon smelter in Newport, WA. We are committed to ensuring that the potential impacts of the smelter are accurately described and publicly available. More information on the smelter proposal is available at: